(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-630AN-1a, R.T. Kelly NY

Coin Details

Description

R.T. Kelly of New York issued this Civil War store card during the 1862-1864 coin shortage. New York state generated the second-largest body of Civil War token issues, concentrated in New York City but extending to Albany, Troy, Buffalo, and smaller commercial centers. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 630AN-1a) is common. Merchants typically ordered tokens from die-sinkers who maintained inventories of patriotic and advertising dies for rapid production. Merchant-issued tokens circulated as substitutes for scarce federal coinage throughout the Northern states between 1862 and 1864. Civil War tokens circulated alongside postage currency, fractional currency notes, and encased postage stamps as substitutes for the federal coins that had disappeared from commercial channels. After Congress banned private coinage in 1864, surviving tokens became instant collectibles, with serious collecting beginning within a decade of the war's end.

Rarity Notes

Copper strikings are generally the most common metal variant for Civil War store cards, as copper was the standard planchet material mimicking the federal cent. With 8 cataloged varieties, R.T. Kelly was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 630AN-1a